


The Orange Hat

by lrose20



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Gen, marlas if you put slash goggles on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-06
Updated: 2013-08-06
Packaged: 2017-12-22 14:38:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/914370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lrose20/pseuds/lrose20
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the prompt: "the hat was never going to be a good idea"</p>
<p>Martin surprises himself by making Douglas' daughter delighted with a horrid looking orange hat knitted by Arthur.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Orange Hat

The hat was never going to be a good idea. Not as a joke, not for cold days, never. The hat in question barely even resembled a hat, and it was a horrid shade of orange. It would come as no surprise to anyone that Arthur had been the one to knit said hat, and pick the color. Carolyn, upon finally being fed up with Arthur never seeming to have enough to do with himself, taught her son how to knit. Arthur had then knitted like crazy for about a month, and everything he knitted, he gave to people.  
The horrid, orange hat went to Martin. It was of course just his luck that he'd end up with the worst of all of Arthur's creations. He'd tried wearing it at all sorts of angles, and all it did was make his random freckles stand out and it never hid or helped his hair.

The one day he'd worn it to work, Douglas and Carolyn had teased him about it so much, he hadn't spoken to either of them for a whole day and had nearly tossed the stupid hat out.  
Then came the day when it was so windy and cold that Martin's ears were turning numb. He was on his way to Douglas' to return another item Douglas had left in the airplane in his hasty departure. Deciding to sod it all, Martin jammed the awkward lump of a hat onto his head. He showed up at Douglas' with it still all, and rang the bell.  
Instead of Douglas answering the door, a small girl with pigtails and overalls on answered the door.

"Oh, em, hello. Is…Douglas home?" Martin asked awkwardly.

"You mean Daddy?" the little girl asked, twirling a bit of her hair.  
This was Douglas' daughter? Despite having helped…bomb her birthday with a sugar brick, he'd never actually met the girl.

"Yes," he said, nodding slightly.

"Mhmm. Daddy! A man's at the door!" she called over her shoulder.

"Just a moment!" Martin heard Douglas call. The girl didn't seem bothered by this, staring up at Martin with wide eyes.

"I like your hat," she mumbled.

"Sorry?" he asked, certain he'd heard wrong.

"Your hat. S'my favorite color. Only mummy says its a horrid color." She stared up at it longingly, and after considering this for a moment, Martin took off the hat and stooped so he was closer to her height.  
"You know, I have…plenty of hats," he lied; this was in fact his only hat other than his captain's hat. "Would you like to have it?"

Douglas' daughter gaped at him like a fish and then leaned in, to whisper loudly, "Really?" Martin nodded.  
She stared at him for another moment and then nodded eagerly. Martin hesitated; he was never sure how to handle children, but decided she wouldn't protest, and carefully placed the hat over her head. It surprisingly fit her perfectly and she beamed at him.

"Thank you!" she gasped.

When Douglas emerged into the hallway, he found his daughter hugging a slightly bewildered Martin Crieff.

Perhaps the hat had been a good idea after all.


End file.
